Automatic price display control by emulation of electronic cash register price lookup

ABSTRACT

A system and method for distribution of product price and/or sales data in a retail establishment. Product price and/or sales data is stored locally, either in a central computer or master electronic cash register (ECR) or remotely at a master computer. The product price data is stored in the form of a price look-up (PLU) table. The price data can be pushed from the master ECR, local or master computers to and ECR emulation hub to an ECR emulation hub. Similarly, the ECR emulation hub can request product price data from the master ECR, local or master computers. Once the product price data arrives at the ECR emulation hub, it can be processed and sent to a display, which will be located near the appropriate product. The ECR emulation hub can also record and/or transmit prices actually charged for products over time to allow for automatic auditing of promotional pricing offers such as those made by manufacturers of the product. The ECR emulation hub acts like an ECR, thereby requiring no special software or hardware modifications to existing pricing display systems that already support ECRs.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation patent application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/495,382, filed Apr. 24, 2017, which is acontinuation patent application of Ser. No. 14/729,637, filed Jun. 3,2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,652,757, issued on May 16, 2017, which is adivisional patent application of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/168,574, filed Jun. 24, 2011, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,058,621, issuedJun. 16, 2015, which is a continuation patent application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 12/230,237, filed Aug. 26, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No.7,997,487, issued Aug. 16, 2011, which is a divisional patentapplication of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/446,791, filed May29, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,433,831, issued Oct. 7, 2008, which claimspriority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 60/384,833, filed Jun. 4, 2002. The content of each priorapplication is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF INVENTION

The present invention relates to electronic displays. In particular, thepresent invention relates to emulation of an electronic cash register ata product's shelf to provide pricing and other relevant informationregarding the product.

BACKGROUND

Electronic pricing systems are ubiquitous in the retail industry, aswell as some wholesale industries. The advantages of electronic pricingsystems are numerous: up-to-the minute inventory status and control,ability to monitor sales data (i.e., how “fast” a particular salesregister operates, average dollar per transaction, etc.) and, as aresult, decreasing inventory costs by purchasing replacement items onlywhen absolutely necessary. As product is moved into a store, and theninto warehouse storage, data can be accumulated (how much productreceived, where stored, date and time) and can be compared to sales datato see how product has “moved” from receiving to final purchase by acustomer. These systems have revolutionized the retail industry, andhardly any store exists which does not use some of electronic pricingsystem.

An electronic price system used in retail establishments is described inU.S. Pat. No. 4,139,149 (the '149 patent), issued to Crepeau et al., thesystem including a computer, point of sale terminals, and product codereaders at the point of sale terminals including an electronic pricedisplay system. The display system has plural display units, with onedisplay unit at each of the locations in the store where items are heldfor sale. The computer controls both the prices which are displayed bythe display units and the prices which are charged to customers at thepoint of sale terminals. The display units are connected in anelectrical series by data transmission line, and price information istransmitted by the computer over the transmission line to the displaysystem in the same order as the display units are connected.

The '149 patent arranges the display units in a particular order. Thecomputer shifts data out, to each display, which are connected inseries. Data corresponding to the last display in line is sent first,data for the second to last display data is sent second, and so on. The'149 patent requires specialized software and hardware to use UPC datathat is used in electronic cash registers. The '149 patent describesdisplays that are connected by data transmission lines only, i.e., thatare hardwired.

An electronic price display system used in retail establishments is alsodescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,002,886 (the '886 patent), issued toSundelin. The '886 patent describes an electronic price display unit,which can be remotely addressed and in which the price displayed can beremotely set. The device of the '886 patent attempts to ensure that theprice displayed for an item is identical to the price actually chargedfor the item. The '886 patent requires special software to correlate theaddresses of the display units and the types of items displayed nearby.Additionally, the '886 patent creates a unique hardware arrangement touse the specialized output of the special software to receive thecorrect information (i.e., if a different pricing protocol was used, thedevice of the '886 patent would not be able to function properly).

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the incorporation of electronicprice display units in a system in which a computer supplies priceinformation to one or more point-of-sale terminals.

With reference to FIG. 1, in which arrows indicate the direction ofinformation flow, prices of items of merchandise for sale by a retailsales business are stored in the memory of a central computer 112. Thiscomputer may be linked to a master computer 106 when said retail salesbusiness operates more than one store. The master computer, if existent,could be used to update price and other information. Otherwise, thecentral computer 112 would be used for this purpose. When an item isbeing sold, a product code reader 116, of which there may be more thanone, is used to read and decode the product code 121 printed on saiditem. This decoded information is transmitted to an associatedpoint-of-sale terminal 115, which transmits said information to thecentral computer 112. In response, the central computer transmits theprice of said item to the point-of-sale terminal 115, which adds saidprice to an accumulating total of the prices of all items being sold ina particular transaction. The details of the process described above maybe altered by distributing the circuit functions and interconnectionsdifferently, without altering the basic process.

One or more electronic price display units 117 are used in conjunctionwith the central computer 112 as follows. The internal address code ofeach price display unit is correlated in the store computer memory withthe product code of the item or items whose price said price displayunit is to display, where said product code 121 is the same product coderead by the product code reader 116. Each price display unit 117 isplaced adjacent to the display area of the item or items whose price itis to display. Each price display unit 117 is connected to the centralcomputer 112, from which it receives electrically coded information. Themeans for connection of said price display unit 117 to said centralcomputer 112 may comprise wires or other conductors, electromagnetictransmission and reception, acoustic transmission and reception, or anycombination of such means. Connection to said central computer 112 shallbe construed to include any interface or interfaces used. Shelf buses119 are mounted on the edges of product display shelves. The electronicprice display units 117 are connected to the shelf buses 119.

The correlation in the store computer memory between the address code ofan electronic price display unit 117 and the product code of anassociated item or items may be formed by visually reading theexternally readable address code of said electronic price display unit117 and reading said product code and by entering this information intosaid computer. This process would not have to be repeated until productdisplay areas were rearranged.

Once the product codes 121 and display unit address codes have beencorrelated in the store computer memory, the current price of any item,and other relevant information, can be transmitted by the computer toany price display unit as electrically coded information. The source ofdisplayed price information is thus the same as the source of the priceinformation used by the point-of-sale terminals, thereby ensuring thatthe displayed price and the price charged are identical.

Electronic pricing systems are based on electronic scanners, oruniversal product code (UPC) readers. A UPC reader can “read” theuniversal product code (UPC) of a particular product viewed by thescanner. A UPC consists of a series of lines or “bars” of varyingwidths, which represents coded information. By “coded” it is meant thatthe different widths of the bars, and the spaces between them, have beenspecifically created to represent information (similarly to, forexample, the dots and dashes of the morse code which represents lettersand numbers). In this case, the encoded information is productinformation, including at least the manufacturer (e.g. “Campbell”), theproduct type (“instant soup mix”), and perhaps other information aswell. All this information is included in an alpha-numeric code, whichcan then be used to ascertain the price of the product. This is done inthe central computer 112, by means of a price look-up (PLU) table 124.PLU table 124 is simply a table, with all the product “names” (actuallythe alpha-numeric “words”) as one column, and the corresponding pricesin the second column. Master computer 106 can also have a PLU, althoughit is shown as master PLU 126, because master computer 106 could servicedifferent retail establishments, each with different products sold.

A real time computer driven retail pricing display system is describedin U.S. Pat. No. 4,500,880, (the '880 patent), issued to Gomersall etal. The '880 patent describes a computer driven informational displaysystem which visually displays selected information in real time. Thearrangement is particularly adapted for displaying pricing and otherassociated information in retail establishments which utilize a standarduniversal product code for the items of merchandise for sale. Theparticular bar code forms a unique address for respective remote displaymodules at selected locations throughout the store. A source of computerbased information is applied to all of the remote display units inparallel. When a particular display module detects its unique address,the information to be displayed, which follows the address code, isprocessed and used to control the operation of an LCD display.

The chief feature of the '880 patent is that the displays are hardwiredto the store base computer, which carries both power and data.Therefore, specialized hardware is required for the electronic displays.Additionally, special software is required to address the data. Asdescribed above, the unique addresses are in fact the UPC codesthemselves. The UPC codes are then followed by the data, i.e., pricinginformation, which is sent to each particular display, depending on theproduct displayed there.

Thus, as described above there are particular problems in the prior artsuch as the use of specialized hardware, which is both costly topurchase, costly to maintain, and more importantly prone to failurewhich reduces the on-time performance and can result in loss of sales.Additionally, specialized software is required in all the foregoingprior art systems, again resulting in extensive modifications toexisting electronic pricing systems, requiring additional expendituresof capital. These software systems are again prone to failure and causeexisting systems to malfunction, which result in lost sales because ofdowntime. Also, some of the prior art systems require elaboratecommunication schemes, which require meticulous planning of electronicpricing displays, which, in a retail store establishment, is notconducive to creating a particular traffic flow of consumers in a mannermost conducive for maximizing sales. None of these prior art systemsdiscussed the ability for bidirectional communication ability, or theability to display any information other than prices.

The presence of specialized electronic price display interface softwareat the heart of a store's price management system can be both non-robustand create a security risk unless the software is completely customizedand tested for a particular system design. This makes the use ofelectronic pricing signs owned by others than the retailer, such asbranded consumer products manufacturers, prohibitively difficult andexpensive to install and manage. Either the store must incorporate“foreign” software into the heart of it's pricing system or must createand manage a separate system for each manufacturer who would wish toelectronically display an accurate price on manufacturer providedin-store merchandisers as are common in retail. As a result, themanufacturer's in-store merchandisers are normally provided with eitherhand-written prices or simple stick-on numbers for pricing, andexpensive and difficult to maintain method which can lead to disparitiesbetween the posted price and the selling price as listed by theelectronic cash register's price look-up system.

Thus, a genuine need has been shown and demonstrated for an electronicpricing display system, which does not require specialized hardware orsoftware, which interacts within an existing electronic pricing displaysystem seamlessly and without large expenditures of additional capital,and/or does not impose any changes or modifications to the existingsystem, wherein such a system will have the ability for bidirectionalcommunication, the ability to display information other than price, andinteract in a manner not affecting existing systems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A merchandising system is provided for the distribution and display ofproduct information, that includes a master database, located at aregional sales/management location, the master database containing aprice-look up (PLU) table which correlates prices of products anduniversal product codes (UPC) that are contained on the products. Thesystem communicates between the master database and a central databaselocated within a retail establishment. The central database communicatesthe UPC price and sales data to electronic cash registers (ECR's) aswell as an ECR emulation hub. The ECR emulation hub appears as an ECR tothe central database, and can translate the product price and salesinformation into a format that an electronic price display unit—whichcommunicates with the ECR emulation hub—can use to display price andsales information.

The invention provides a system for the distribution and display ofproduct information in a retail establishment, having at least a masterdatabase host, which in turn can include at least a computer,communication interface, and a memory containing a master database; acentral computer, located at a retail establishment, having at least amemory, and a first communication interface for communicating with themaster database host and a second communication interface forcommunicating with one or more electronic cash registers located in theretail establishment; an electronic price display unit; and anelectronic cash register emulation hub, for translating productinformation in a universal price code format to the electronic pricedisplay unit format.

The invention also provides a method for the distribution and display ofproduct information in a retail establishment, including at least thesteps of transmitting product information from a master database to acentral database located at a retail establishment; transmitting productinformation from a central database to an electronic cash registeremulation hub; translating product information from a universal pricecode format to an electronic price display unit format in the electroniccash register emulation hub; transmitting the translated productinformation from the electronic cash register emulation hub to theelectronic price display unit; and displaying the translated productinformation on the electronic price display unit.

The invention also provides for logging of sale prices for trackedproducts. The selling prices of these products can be recorded at theelectronic cash register emulation hub to automate the tracking ofprices at retail establishments for verification and auditing of thepass through of manufacturer's promotions by the retail establishment.This price log can be maintained in removable or on-board memory, and/ortransmitted via a network or the internet to an auditing authority suchas the product's manufacturer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention, as well as other features and advantages thereof will bebest understood by reference to the detailed description of the specificembodiments which follows, when read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art system for electronic distribution ofpricing data in a retail establishment;

FIG. 1A illustrates an electronic price display system includingconnected cash registers where a PLU can be modified on one register andthen “sent” to the others to maintain a coherent price for all ECR's;

FIG. 2 illustrates a system for electronic distribution of productinformation in a retail establishment, according to an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 3 illustrates a system for electronic distribution of productinformation in a retail establishment, according to an embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 4 illustrates an ECR emulation hub according to an embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 5 illustrates an ECR emulation hub according to an embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 6 illustrates an electronic pricing display unit, according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 illustrates an electronic pricing display unit, according to anembodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for the electronicdistribution and display of product information at a retailestablishment, according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for the electronicdistribution and display of product information at a retailestablishment, according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for the electronicdistribution and display of product information at a retailestablishment, according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for the electronicdistribution and display of product information at a retailestablishment, according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for the electronicdistribution and display of product information at a retailestablishment, according to an embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for the electronicdistribution and display of product information at a retailestablishment, according to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The various features of the invention will now be described withreference to the figures, in which like parts are identified with thesame reference characters.

FIG. 1A illustrates a system for electronic distribution of pricing data100A using a master ECR 119 in retail establishment 101. In theelectronic pricing system 100A of FIG. 1A, master ECR 119 communicateswith other electronic cash registers 118 via communications bus 122.Master ECR 119 contains PLU 114, as did the central computer 112. ECRs118 communicate with master ECR 119, querying the PLU 114 for priceinformation, as they did with the central computer 202. The manner inwhich the electronic price system 100 of FIG. 1A operates is essentiallythe same as the electronic price system of FIG. 1. However, becausethere is no central computer 202 or master computer 106, the ability tomonitor sales information, or input price information, is somewhat moredifficult.

Electronic pricing systems are based on electronic scanners, oruniversal product code (UPC) readers. A UPC reader can “read” theuniversal product code (UPC) of a particular product viewed by thescanner. A UPC consists of a series of lines or “bars” of varyingwidths, which represents coded information. By “coded” it is meant thatdifferent widths of the bars, and the spaces between them, have beenspecifically created to represent information (similarly to, forexample, the dots and dashes of the morse code which represents lettersand numbers). In this case, the encoded information is productinformation, including at least the manufacturer, the product type, andperhaps other information as well. All this information is included inan alpha-numeric code, which can then be used to ascertain the price ofthe product. This is done in the central computer 112, by means of aprice look-up (PLU) table 124. PLU table 124 is simply a table, with allthe product “names” (actually the alpha-numeric “words”) as one column,and the corresponding prices in the second column. Master computer 106can also have a PLU, although it is shown as master PLU 126, becausemaster computer 106 could service different retail establishments, eachwith different products sold.

FIG. 2 illustrates a system for electronic distribution of productinformation in a retail establishment, according to an embodiment of theinvention. The electronic pricing distribution system 200 of FIG. 2contains some of the same components as the prior art electronic pricingsystem of FIG. 1. Similar components have been identically labeled.However, electronic pricing distribution system 200 contains additionalfeatures, which include an electronic cash register (ECR) emulation hub204 and electronic price display unit (EPDU) 206.

In the embodiment of an electronic pricing distribution system shown inFIG. 2, an ECR 118 requests product information from central computer202 and the product information is retrieved from PLU 208. The featuresof PLU 208 will be discussed in detail later. The product information,after being retrieved from PLU 208, is transmitted to the appropriateECR 118 via communications bus 122. Communications bus 122 can be aRS232, ethernet, twisted pair, or any other type of hard-wiredcommunications bus. If the retail establishment 101 is large enough, andhas remotely located ECRs 118, then wireless transceivers 120A and 120Bmight be employed. Wireless LAN transceiver 120A communicates withwireless LAN transceiver 120B, which in turn communicates viacommunications bus 122 to other ECRs 118, to send price data. Theoperation of the electronic pricing distribution system 200 can thusperform the operations of the electronic pricing distribution systems100 of the prior art, described above.

For certain commercial enterprises, a central sales/management office103 is included. Communications between retail establishment 101 and thecentral sales/management office 103 can be accomplished via VSAT dishes102A and 102B, as has been discussed previously. Product information canbe sent from the master computer through the central computer, to theappropriate ECR 118, by request of the particular ECR 118. Or, productinformation can be sent from the central computer on a regularlyscheduled, or unscheduled basis. The central computer will respond torequests from locally operated ECRs 118, as discussed in reference tothe electronic pricing distribution system 100 of FIG. 1.

ECR emulation hub 204 of FIG. 2 operates, as far as the central (ormaster) computer 202 is concerned, in the same manner as ECR 118. Nospecial software or hardware is needed to operate the electronic pricingdistribution system 200 according to this embodiment of the invention.ECR emulation hub 204 receives the same communications via communicationbus 122, as ECRs 118. ECR emulation hub 204, is programmed to respond oracquire information for particular products, i.e., for particular UPCs.Therefore, when product information is sent from the central computer202 to the various electronic cash registers 118 via communications bus122, ECR emulation hub 204 will acquire only the specific data forproducts and merchandise for which it supports. For example, an ECRemulation hub could be located in one part of the store, which supportshalf a dozen or more different merchandise displays. The merchandisecould be any merchandise whatsoever from foods and beverages tohousehold goods or personal items, for example cigarettes. Productinformation is placed on communications bus 122. Normally, only one ECR118 would receive and retain the data—the ECR 118 that requested it.However, in the electronic pricing distribution system 200 of thepresent invention, the ECR emulation hub 204 which supports the productwill also receive and retain the product information. ECR emulation hub204 communicates with EPDUs 206 (wired or wireless). Each EPDU 206 ispositioned to provide product information for a select number ofproximately located products or merchandise. As is well known to thoseskilled in the art, advertisement information (i.e., price) can bedisplayed in close proximity to the corresponding product. Therefore,ECR emulation hub 204 can determine which EPDU to send appropriateproduct information to.

For example, in FIG. 2, EPDU 206A could provide product information forbeverage items, located in display case 210A. When new information isinput to the central computer 202 in PLU 208, or when the product ispurchased from any ECR 118 for a beverage item which ECR emulation hub204A supports, that information is retrieved by ECR emulation hub 204Aas well as the specific ECR 118. Once that occurs, ECR emulation hub204A will update its memory for the specific UPC code and correlatingprice, and output a message (price data) to be sent to the particularEPDU (EPDU 206A, located at display case 210A), which corresponds to theparticular beverage item. It has therefore been established that nospecialized hardware or software is needed to properly display productinformation for particular products or merchandise for sale. The ECRemulation hub can thus emulate an electronic cash register and act as ahub to various EPDU 206. Similarly, remote ECR emulation hub 204B, whichcommunicates to central computer 202 via wireless LAN transceivers 120Aand 120B, can operate in the same manner.

Another aspect of ECR emulation hub 204, is its bidirectionalcommunication ability. Regarding this aspect, ECR emulation hub 204 canrequest product information from central computer 202 for any productsupported by ECR emulation hub 204. This can be done on a regular basis,in order to maintain the most current product information, or it can bedone per request. A product information request mechanism 606 can beincluded near or on EPDU 206 which is located near the product ormerchandise it supports, whereupon a customer can request instantproduct information (see FIGS. 6 and 7 for an illustration of EPDU 206Aand EPDU 207, which shows product information request mechanism 606. Thediscussion of FIGS. 6 and 7 includes operation of the productinformation request mechanism; product information request mechanism isnot shown on EPDU 206A in FIG. 2). In this case, ECR emulation hub 204performs the same operation as ECR 118 that requests a price for aparticular UPC. This process was described in detail with respect toFIG. 1. Sales information includes special promotions or marketingtechniques for purchases of higher quantity of the items, or thepurchase of a combination of products or merchandise. Remote ECRemulation hub 204B, which communicates with the central computer 202 viawireless LAN transceivers 120A and 120B, also has bidirectionalcommunication ability. Therefore a customer across the store at displaycase 210D can request the same type of information via EPDU 206D andproduct information request mechanism 606, connected to remote ECRemulation hub 204B, as another customer at display case 210A whocommunicates via EPDU 206A which is hardwired through ECR emulation hub204A to central computer 202. Although the hardware interfaces aredifferent, there is no difference in the ability to display the mostcurrent pricing, to request the most current pricing, to request mostcurrent sales information, or to receive the most current salesinformation. Additionally, the ECR emulation hub can keep records ofprices actually charged for particular products over time to allow forautomatic auditing of promotional pricing offers such as those made bymanufacturers of the product. This price tracking can either be storedlocally in fixed and/or removable memory, and/or transmitted back to anauditing authority via a network or the internet.

If the retail establishment 101 is part of a larger organization, and isconfigured to communicate with a central sales/management office 103,then ECR emulation hub 204 will access master computer 106 as in thecase of ECR 118. Product information could be requested on a per-requestbasis. This would also be true for sales information. Or, if directaccess is not allowed from ECR 118 (and therefore from ECR emulation hub204), then ECR emulation hub 204 will receive the product informationfrom the central computer 202, as other ECRs 118 do.

FIG. 3 illustrates a system for electronic distribution of productinformation in a retail establishment, according to an embodiment of theinvention. The electronic pricing distribution system 300 of FIG. 3resides in a retail establishment 101 and includes a master ECR 302 andadditional ECRs 118, which communicate between themselves viacommunication bus 122, and also to ECR emulation hub 204. ECR emulationhub 204 communicates via another communication bus 122 to EPDUs 206A-C.Instead of a central computer 202 with central PLU 208 as described inFIG. 2, master ECR 302 contains central PLU 208. Various means areafforded for inputting data to master ECR 302 for central PLU 208. Forexample, master ECR 302 could have a floppy disk reader, a specialmemory card reader, an internet connection, or another I/O thatinterfaces or communicates with an external computer (such as a laptop).

In operation, when a customer scans or has scanned a product ormerchandise for sale, the ECR 118 at which the product or merchandisewas scanned will acquire the UPC, transmit it to the master ECR 302 (viahardwired or wireless means) and the master ECR 302 will access itscentral PLU 208 to determine the price that matches the UPC. The pricewill then be transmitted back to the originating ECR 118 (the one atwhich the product was scanned). As was described with respect to FIG. 2,the price information is communicated to ECR emulation hub 204 whichstores such information in its own memory, and transmits it to theproper EPDU 206A, 206B or 206C. As shown and discussed in FIG. 2, ECRemulation hub 204 knows it has one or more EPDUs 206 attached to it,each particular one corresponding to a particular display of aparticular product price or merchandise for sale. Sales information canbe displayed at the EPDU 206 as was discussed previously. Whether salesinformation can be transmitted to ECR emulation hub 204 and EPDU 206depends on whether master ECR 302 has the capability of retaining andtransmitting sales information.

A customer can request product information from the master ECR 302, aswas discussed with respect to FIG. 2. Master ECR 302 can push productinformation on a regular basis, or when requested, via the productinformation request mechanism 606 located at EPDUs 206A-C.

In an alternative embodiment, the ECR's can be small ECR's that have aself-contained PLU, which is linked not to scanned barcode inputs, butto simple price lookup keys where each key is assigned to a popularproduct. There may be dozens of these assigned keys as well asmultiplexed keys such as shift+key to obtain more individual productlookups. These small ECR's are linked together so that price lookuptable when modified on one ECR (the master) can be electronically copiedto the other ECR's connected to the master ECR. In this manner, the ECRemulating electronic display control unit receives the updated price fora particular item just as the other ECR's get their PLU's updated. Inthis arrangement, the ECR emulator is instructed as to which particularPLU entry represents which particular product via a simple one-timeconfiguration linking a product's identity and thus its price display toa virtual PLU key and thus to a specific PLU table entry.

FIG. 4 illustrates an ECR emulation hub according to an embodiment ofthe invention. ECR emulation hub 204 includes I/O 402, which isconnected to microprocessor 410 via a first internal communications bus406A. Microprocessor 410 communicates via second internal communicationsbus 406B to first memory 404 and second I/O 412. Within microprocessor410, there may be a second memory 408. Second memory 408 or first memory404, will contain the steps of a program, which when executed, carry outthe functions of ECR emulation hub 204. Also, within either the firstmemory 404 or second memory 408, an auxiliary PLU 414 can be provided.

Auxiliary PLU 414 is similar to central PLU 208 and master PLU 126, inthat it is a “table” that correlates UPC and price information. However,auxiliary PLU 414 also can contain (symbolically) a third column,entitled “Sales Information.” Sales information, as discussedpreviously, is information about special offers (i.e., 2-for-1 deals,volume price discounts, etc.) for specific products. The salesinformation feature, if utilized, would require additional software atthe central computer 202, master computer 106 or master ECR 302.However, because this is an additional feature, the electronic pricingdistribution system, regardless of particular embodiment, does notrequire any hardware or software modifications to any existing pricedistribution system, to correctly display the most current priceinformation.

The additional software mentioned above encompasses, among otherfeatures, a means for correlating UPC information, sales information andprice information in control PLU 208 and master PLU 126. This does notnecessarily have to be the case, however, but it can be made part of thepricing display system without adversely affecting the existing pricingdisplay system.

I/O 402 receives data from master ECR 302, central computer 202 ormaster computer 106, and communicates the same via the first internalcommunications bus 406A to microprocessor 410. Second memory 408 orfirst memory 404 will retain the product information for each UPC thatwas transmitted. This product information is stored in auxiliary PLU414. Auxiliary PLU 414 can either retain only that product informationfor products and merchandise associated with the EPDUs 206 connected toI/O 412, or, it can retain all product information placed on the firstcommunication bus by the central computer 202, master computer 106 ormaster ECR 302.

When new product information is received via I/O 402 and sent tomicroprocessor 410, auxiliary PLU 414 is updated (either in first memory404 or second memory 408), and then retransmitted via second internalcommunications bus 406B to the appropriate I/O 412, which will thentransmit it to the appropriate EPDU 206. Thereupon, EPDU 206 willdisplay the information in the appropriate format. Software, whichoperates in the ECR emulation hub 204, will re-format the price andsales information into the format specified by the EPDU 206.

There are several reasons why product information would be sent frommaster computer 106, central computer 202, or master ECR 302, to ECRemulation hub 204. The first is that some ECR 118 has requested it. Thesecond is that a consumer has utilized the product information requestmechanism 606 to request product information, and the master ECR 302,central computer 202, or master computer 106 is sending productinformation in response to that request. Third, there might be anautomatic update scheduled of product information from the centralcomputer 202, master computer 106 or master ECR 302.

I/Os 412 can communicate bidirectionally with the EPDUs 206.Communications from an EPDU are received by I/O 412 and sent tomicroprocessor 410, through second internal communications bus 406B.Communications sent from an EPDU 206, through I/O 412, are for thepurposes of requesting product information. Microprocessor 410 receivesthe request signal, and re-formats it to be sent to the master ECR,central computer or master computer. In this way, ECR emulation hub 204acts like any other ECR 118 requesting price information (unless, ofcourse it is sales information, in which case special software must beutilized).

FIG. 5 illustrates an ECR emulation hub according to an embodiment ofthe invention. The embodiment of ECR emulation hub 205 containsessentially the same components of the first embodiment of ECR emulationhub 204, but is divided into two different parts, ECR emulation hub A(EEHA) 500A and ECR emulation hub B (EEHB) 500B, and thus has additionalcomponents. These additional components extend its communicationcapability, but, both operate in exactly the same manner.

In EEHA 500A, I/O 504A connected to the first communication bus 122, andis connected to EEHA microprocessor 502A via first EEHA internalcommunications bus 506A. EEHA microprocessor 502A might have an internalEEHA memory 508A, and is connected to external EEHA memory 508B, viasecond EEHA internal communications bus 506B. Software instructions thatenable EEHA 500A to perform as an ECR emulator are contained in eitherinternal EEHA memory 508A, external EEHA memory 508B, or both (if bothare present). Data that is received by EEHA microprocessor 502A, i.e.,product information, is stored in the auxiliary PLU 414, which canreside in either internal EEHA memory 508A, external EEHA memory 508B,or both (if both are present). EEHA microprocessor 502A, upon receivingthe appropriate instructions to send product information to an EPDU 206,will transfer the appropriate data via first EEHA internalcommunications bus 506A to EEHA I/O 504A and then to EEHB 500B.

EEHB 500B receives data from EEHA 500A via third communications bus 514,which is received by EEHB I/O 504B, and transmitted to EEHBmicroprocessor 502B, via first EEHB internal communications bus 506C.EEHB microprocessor 502B can have an internal EEHB memory 510A, and/orbe connected to an external EEHB memory 510B, via second EEHB internalcommunications bus 506D. Second EEHB internal communications bus 506Dconnects EEHB microprocessor 502B to one or more EEHB I/O 512, which arethen connected to EPDU 206, via appropriate means.

In operation, EEHB 500B receives data from EEHA 500A, and reformats itinto the appropriate format depending on the type of EPDU connected toit, and transmits the data on the appropriate EEHB I/O port 512. EEHB500B has the capability to handle greater numbers of EPDUs 206 than thefirst embodiment of ECR emulation hub 204. EEHB 500B will receiverequests for product information from consumers operating the productinformation request mechanism 606 at an EPDU 206, and pass that requestto EEHA 500A, which then passes the request to master ECR 302, mastercomputer 106, or central computer 202, as the case might be. Therefore,in operation, both ECR emulation hub 204 and second embodiment of ECRemulation hub 205 operate in the same manner, though the functions ofECR emulation hub 204 are spread into two parts in the second embodimentof ECR emulation hub 205.

FIG. 6 illustrates an electronic pricing display unit, according to anembodiment of the invention. Electronic pricing display unit 206 of FIG.6 contains a display component 602 and a prepackaged component 604. Thedisplay component 602 is the electronic display component that receives,processes and ultimately displays the information communicated to EPDU206 from ECR emulation hub 204 (or the second embodiment of ECRemulation hub 205; since the two are interchangeable, from hereon in,only ECR emulation hub 204 shall be discussed). There are manytechnologies available that are capable for use in a display of thisnature, including LEDs, electrophoretic, electrochromic,electro-luminescent, plasma, LCD's, CRT's, etc. In this instance, thatis, EPDU 206, only pricing information can be displayed.

EPDU 206 is located in a display case 210, for a particular product,e.g., cigarettes or soft drinks. Each EPDU 206 has its own particularaddress. This address can be known by virtue of the particular I/O portit is attached to at the ECR emulation hub 204, or, if communicationsare through wireless means, an alpha-numeric code, that is known to theECR emulation hub 204, and is included in any data transmission intendedfor the particular EPDU 206. The ECR emulation hub 204 has storage means(i.e., a “table”) to correlate EPDUs 206 and the products they support.Thus, for example, ECR emulation hub 204A might have 10 EPDUs 206connected to it, and EPDU 206A displays price and/or sales informationfor cigarettes or soft drinks EPDU 206B, also connected to ECR emulationhub 204, might display price and/or sales information for a popular softdrink, and so on. This information—which EPDU 206 supports whatproduct—is stored in an appropriate memory in ECR emulation hub 204A.Additionally, since there may be one or more types of EPDUs 206connected to ECR emulation hub 204, each with its own data formatscheme, data refresh rate and/or other requirements, a table of EPDUdisplay requirement information is kept in the appropriate memory at theECR emulation hub 204. It is possible that EPDU 206 will have thecapability to transmit its particular EPDU display requirementinformation to the ECR emulation hub 204, upon connection, power up,through regular transmission, or upon request.

The EPDU 206 of FIG. 6 also contains a product information requestmechanism 606. The product information request mechanism 606 is abutton, or lever, or other well known electro-mechanical device (whichsends a signal upon activation) that is used by a potential consumer torequest the most current product information. An electrical signal isgenerated upon activation, which is received by the EPDU 206 processingmeans, and the appropriately formatted message is sent to ECR emulationhub 204, conveying the message that product information is requested fora particular product. The ECR emulation hub then forwards the request tothe central computer 202, master computer 106 or master ECR 302,whereupon the message is processed, as has been previously described.

FIG. 7 illustrates an electronic pricing display unit, according to anembodiment of the invention, wherein a second embodiment of an EPDU 207,which is larger than EPDU 206 shown in FIG. 6, has additional featuresdescribed below. The second electronic display unit 702 of FIG. 7encompasses nearly the entire display. There are means for mounting theassembly package, power supplies, etc., which are well known to thoseskilled in the art. The second electronic display 702 is a highlyversatile and functional display which is capable of generating images,and many different types of font and font sizes. That which wasdisplayed on cardboard or metal or plastic in the first embodiment ofthe EPDU 206A, shown in FIG. 6, can be replicated in electronic format.As in FIG. 6, the second electronic display 702 is the component thatreceives the instructions from ECR emulation hub 204 (of eitherembodiment), and displays the data that is transmitted to it, in theproper format. EPDU 206B is capable of displaying sales information, asshown. For example, different displays can be displayed and easilyswitched if a new type of merchandise or product were to be displayed inthis location. Thereupon this information would have to be made known tothe appropriate ECR emulation hub 204 so that it would know whichproducts or merchandise correlates to the specific EPDU 206B attached tothe particular display. EPDU 206B also has the product informationrequest mechanism 606, for requesting product information, the operationof which has already been described.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for the electronicdistribution and display of product information at a retailestablishment, according to an embodiment of the invention. The methodfor the electronic distribution and display of product information at aretail establishment begins in step 801, wherein product information istransmitted from master computer 106 to a central computer 202. Thistransmission occurs through either satellite means, wide area networkmeans, a local area network means, a directly hardwired interface, RF,or any other wireless or wired means for communicating information fromone location to another. Product information is stored in auxiliary PLU114. The transmitted product information from the master computer 106 isreceived at the central computer 202 and in step 802 is transmitted fromthat central computer 202 to an ECR emulation hub 204. As previouslydescribed, this communication occurs mainly through a firstcommunications bus 122, but can also be wireless, e.g., via RF, infraredor acoustical means.

When ECR emulation hub 204 receives the product information, at step803, the product information is translated from the UPC format (thatwhich is common to all electronic cash registers of the retailestablishment), to a format appropriate to the EPDU. ECR emulation hub204 preferably first verifies which EPDU 206 the product information isto be sent to, and determines any formatting requirements. This ensuresthat ECR emulation hub 204 acts as an “electronic cash register” 118 andthus functions like another component of the existing pricing system inthe retail establishment 101. Therefore, all specialized hardware orsoftware is contained within the ECR emulation hub 204 and does not inany way affect any existing hardware or software located within retailestablishment 101.

In step 804, the product information is transmitted from ECR emulationhub 204 to EPDU 206 in the appropriate format. As previously discussed,there might be many different types of EPDUs 206 located within oneretail establishment 101. However, such formatting problems areimmaterial and unnoticed by the retail establishment 101, and do notaffect any existing hardware or software contained within any of theelectronic pricing systems already in place. Lastly, in step 805, theproduct price or sales information is displayed at the EPDU for thecustomer to view when coming upon the display. Depending upon the typeof EPDU 206 that is being utilized, product information could be priceinformation alone (EPDU 206A) or product price and/or sales information(EPDU 206B). The display produced by an EPDU can include a variety ofsensory outputs including audio, visual, textual (i.e. a changeablebraille display) or even olfactory outputs.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for the electronicdistribution and display of product information at a retailestablishment, according to an embodiment of the invention. The methodof FIG. 9 for the electronic distribution and display of productinformation at a retail establishment begins with step 901 whereinproduct information is transmitted from a central computer 202 to ECRemulation hub 204. After transmission from the central computer to ECRemulation hub 204, the received product information is translated fromthe UPC format to the appropriate EPDU 206 format. ECR emulation hub 204preferably first verifies which EPDU 206 the product information is tobe sent to, and determines any formatting requirements. Again, EPDU 206formats can be different from electronic display to electronic display,depending on what EPDUs 206 are available for the various productdisplays 210. For example, a certain EPDU could be much larger thananother EPDU for different areas of a store, in which the format mustnecessarily be different. It is to be noted, though, that such changesin format translation are completely unnoticed and do not affect anyexisting electronic pricing display systems contained in any retailstore establishment 101. In step 903, the translated product informationis transmitted in the proper EPDU 206 format to the appropriate EPDU206. Lastly, in step 904, the product information is displayed by theEPDU 206 at the appropriate display. Depending upon the type of EPDU 206that is being utilized, product information could be price informationalone (EPDU 206A) or product price and/or sales information (EPDU 206B).The sales price displayed at the EPDU can be recorded at the ECRemulation hub in memory that is either fixed or removable, ortransmitted back to an auditing authority over a network or theinternet. This feature allows for automatic auditing of promotionalpricing offers such as those made by the product manufacturer.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for the electronicdistribution and display of product information at a retailestablishment, according to a third embodiment of the invention. Themethod of FIG. 10 for the electronic distribution and display of productinformation at a retail establishment begins with step 1001 in whichproduct information is transmitted from a master ECR 302 to ECRemulation hub 204. In step 1002, ECR emulation hub 204 receives thetransmitted product information and translates it from the UPC format toa format in which the attached EPDUs 206 can receive and display theproduct information. Alternatively, a simple master/slave ECR system canuse a simple price key to a price table rather than using UPC's forprice lookup.

In step 1003, the translated product information is transmitted from ECRemulation hub 204 to the appropriate EPDU 206 in the appropriate EPDUformat. And, lastly, in step 1004, EPDU 206 receives the properlyformatted product information and displays the same for viewing by thecustomer at the appropriate display. Depending upon the type of EPDU 206that is being utilized, product information could be price informationalone (EPDU 206A) or product price and/or sales information (EPDU 206B).

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for the electronicdistribution and display of product information at a retailestablishment, according to an embodiment of the invention. The methodof FIG. 11 for the electronic distribution and display of productinformation at a retail establishment begins with step 1101. In step1101 an ECR emulation hub 204 requests product information from a mastercomputer 106 for a specific product, or products. The requested productinformation is transmitted from master computer 106 to central computer202 in step 1102. Alternatively, the centrally managed PLU system canuse a local in-store copy of the PLU, which is only infrequently updatedby the master computer at the headquarters. The retail manager caninstruct the in-store system to update the table, typically at nightwhen people will not be impacted by the price changes.

In step 1103, the central computer 202 transmits the requested productinformation to an ECR emulation hub 204. In step 1104 ECR emulation hub204 translates the product information from a UPC format to theappropriate EPDU 206 format. In step 1105, ECR emulation hub 204transmits the translated product information to the appropriate EPDU 206in the appropriate EPDU format. Lastly, in step 1106, the EPDU 206,having received an appropriately formatted data message, which containsproduct information, displays the product information for viewing bycustomers at the appropriate EPDU 206. Depending upon the type of EPDU206 that is being utilized, product information could be priceinformation alone (EPDU 206) or product price and/or sales information(EPDU 207).

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for the electronicdistribution and display of product information at a retailestablishment, according to an embodiment of the invention. The methodof FIG. 12 for the electronic distribution and display of productinformation at a retail establishment begins with step 1201. In step1201 an ECR emulation hub 204 requests product information from acentral computer 202 for a specific product, or products. The requestedproduct information is transmitted from central computer 202 ECRemulation hub 204 in step 1202. In step 1203 ECR emulation hub 204translates the product information from a UPC format to the appropriateEPDU 206 format. In step 1204 ECR emulation hub 204 transmits thetranslated product information to the appropriate EPDU 206 in theappropriate EPDU format. Lastly, in step 1205, the EPDU 206, havingreceived an appropriately formatted data message, which contains productinformation, displays the product information for viewing by customersat the appropriate EPDU 206. Depending upon the type of EPDU 206 that isbeing utilized, product information could be price information alone(EPDU 206) or product price and/or sales information (EPDU 207).

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram that illustrates a method for the electronicdistribution and display of product information at a retailestablishment, according to an embodiment of the invention. The methodof FIG. 13 for the electronic distribution and display of productinformation at a retail establishment begins with step 1301. In step1301 an ECR emulation hub 204 requests product information from a masterECR 302 for a specific product, or products. The requested productinformation is transmitted from master ECR 302 to ECR emulation hub 204in step 1302. In step 1303 ECR emulation hub 204 translates the productinformation from a UPC format to the appropriate EPDU 206 format. Instep 1304, ECR emulation hub 204 transmits the translated productinformation to the appropriate EPDU 206 in the appropriate EPDU format.Lastly, in step 1305, EPDU 206, having received an appropriatelyformatted data message, which contains product information, displays theproduct information for viewing by customers at the appropriate EPDU206. Depending upon the type of EPDU 206 that is being utilized, productinformation could be price information alone (EPDU 206) or price and/orsales information (EPDU 207).

The embodiments described above are merely given as examples and itshould be understood that the invention is not limited thereto. It is ofcourse possible to embody the invention in specific forms other thanthose described without departing from the spirit of the invention.Further modifications and improvements which retain the basic underlyingprinciples disclosed and claimed herein, are within the spirit and scopeof this invention.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An electronic emulation hub device for aretail price distribution system, the device comprising: a firstelectronic emulation hub having a first microprocessor connected tocommunicate with one or more electronic price display units (EPDU) overa first external bus, two or more of the EDPUs have a different displayspecification; and a second electronic emulation hub including a secondmicroprocessor configured to communicate with the first electronicemulation hub over a first internal bus and with a master electroniccash register (master ECR) over a second external bus, wherein the firstmicroprocessor is configured to receive product information from thesecond electronic emulation hub and reformat the product informationaccording to a display specification of the one or more EPDUs.
 2. Thedevice of claim 1, wherein the first electronic emulation hub comprises:a first communication interface connected to the first external bus forcommunicating with the one or more EPDUs; and a second internal bus thatconnects the first communication interface to the first microprocessor.3. The device of claim 2, wherein the first communication interfacecomprises: a port connection for each EPDU connected to the firstexternal bus, the first external bus having a dedicated address for eachEPDU.
 4. The device of claim 3, wherein the first electronic emulationhub comprises: a first memory device configured to store the productinformation received from the second electronic emulation hub.
 5. Thedevice of claim 4, wherein the first memory device comprises: aprogrammable logic unit configured to store first product informationand send the first product information to the port connection associatedwith an address of first EPDU on the first external bus.
 6. The deviceof claim 4, wherein the first electronic emulation hub comprises: asecond communication interface connected to the second internal bus forcommunicating with the second electronic emulation hub.
 7. The device ofclaim 6, wherein the second electronic emulation hub comprises: a thirdcommunication interface connected to the second external bus forcommunicating with the master ECR; and a second memory device configuredto store the product information received from the master ECR, whereinthe second microprocessor configured to receive new product informationfrom the master ECR and send the new product information to updatecurrent production information stored in the second memory device. 8.The device of claim 7, wherein the second microprocessor of the secondelectronic emulation hub is configured to receive a request signal forfirst product information from a first EPDU via the second communicationinterface, reformat the request signal, and send the reformatted requestsignal to the master ECR for obtaining the requested first productinformation.
 9. The device of claim 8, wherein the first microprocessorof the first electronic emulation hub is configured to receive therequested first product information from the second electronic emulationhub over the second communication interface and store the requestedfirst product information in the first memory device.
 10. The device ofclaim 9, wherein the first memory device is configured to send therequested first product information to a specified port connection ofthe first electronic emulation hub, the port connection connected to anaddress of the first external bus associated with the first EPDU.